Sponsors (4)
The bill raises the reliability and oversight of imported organic feed—improving consumer and producer protection and market confidence—at the cost of greater compliance, administrative and testing expenses, some confidentiality-related trade-offs, and transitional burdens for businesses and regulators.
Consumers, livestock farmers, and downstream food producers will get stronger assurance that imported organic feed is actually organic because covered bulk feedstuffs must be NOP import-certified and shipments with prohibited residues are excluded upon detection.
Shippers, customs agents, certifying agents, and regulators will face clearer rules and a risk-based, regularly updated testing protocol that reduces regulatory ambiguity and helps target enforcement resources to higher-risk feedstuffs.
Importers, supply-chain participants, and organic producers may benefit from improved market confidence and clearer eligibility rules for bulk organic feedstuffs due to a defined list and standardized reporting requirements.
Importers, certifying agents, and small organic feed sellers will face higher compliance costs, more paperwork, potential shipment delays or losses if residues are detected, and those costs may be passed on to farmers and consumers.
USDA and taxpayers will incur increased administrative and testing costs to compile reports, run annual testing, and enforce the new requirements.
Keeping the list of tested feedstuffs confidential reduces transparency for buyers and state certifiers, making it harder for farms and businesses to anticipate testing and plan accordingly.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires USDA to annually test specified imported bulk organic feedstuffs for prohibited residues, exclude noncompliant shipments from organic sale, and report results to Congress.
Introduced April 9, 2025 by John Peter Ricketts · Last progress April 9, 2025
Requires USDA to identify imported bulk organic feedstuffs that will be subject to annual residue testing, carry out that testing each year, and report results to Congress. Shipments found to have prohibited substances above national organic program limits must be excluded from organic sale immediately. Sets definitions, directs USDA (through AMS) to develop risk-based testing protocols with DHS and the interagency organic working group, requires an annually updated confidential list of covered feedstuffs, and mandates a report to Congress within 180 days and annually after that including testing frequency, methods, results, and follow-up actions.